Heartland  Russian Roulette
by CowGirl7384
Summary: Based on TV show - heartland.  will be different l8r. Amy isn't coping well.  Her sister Lou came from New York from the funeral and isn't getting along well.  Can Amy get Roulette, rescue horse to trust her?  K  for things that could happen later.
1. Chapter 1

I made a couple changes in names. It might not be exactly like the show but it is based on it. Some characters have different names but are based on people who were in the actual show. I own nothing.

Chapter 1

Amy –

Hey mom, wanna go for a ride?" I asked.

"Sure, just let me finish this paperwork really quick," my mom replied.

"Ok, I'll go get the horses ready." I got out mom's horse Alabama and my horse Wrangler. (Kind of a cheesy name but I like it.) Mom came out and took her horse by the lead rope. We always rode to the same spot together, it was like it was ours. Mom came out and got on her horse and we rode to a trail in the trees. We rode for an hour and then mom started running. I couldn't keep up with her. She disappeared into the trees and the clouds were turning dark.

"Mom?" I was getting worried after a couple of minutes of her being gone.

"Mom," I called

"I'll always be with you. I love you. Don't worry Amy." I could only hear her voice but she was nowhere in sight.

"Amy…Amy…" Someone kept calling my name.

"Amy!" I opened my eyes and sat straight up.

"Amy, you need to get ready. You're going to be late for your bus," Lou said motherly, Lou was my sister.

"I'm up." Lou gave me a something's-not-right look.

"Are you ok? You don't look so good," She poked around.

"I'm fine."

"But you look so pale…and are you crying?" Tears were threatening to spill out but I squeezed them back.

"Lou! I'm fine," I whispered.

"Ok, ok!" She closed the door like she was offended. She was always offended. I kept having that dream, and I didn't get it. She just disappeared. It kept happening after I came home from the hospital. I got out of bed and got into the shower. I stood in the steamy shower wishing I could go back to bed but instead I stepped out and started drying my hair. Before running out the door I quickly put on some mascara. I had to run to catch the bus in time. I stepped in and looked for my best friend Soraya. She was sitting in the fourth seat back.

"Hey," Soraya said all gloomy.

"Hey…what's wrong?" I asked

"My mom is making me work a double shift at the café so I can't go to the party tonight."

"Eh…it's just Ashley. She drives me crazy. I won't go with you."

"You do know that Ben is going to be there, right? Ben Stillman! And you can't stay home just because of me! I won't let you." Soray dreamed about Ben every night, I swear. He was one of the best riders in the circuit.

"Yeah, yeah. He's nice and we're just friends. Besides, I don't really even want to go unless you're going to be there." Soraya just smiled. We reached the school and reluctantly left the bus.

"You know that by the end of the day I will have talked you into going to the party tonight!" Soray just wouldn't give up.

"I don't think that I know that."

"Well I will!" She pointed her finger in my face all excited in my face. I just laughed. She probably would but I wasn't planning on giving up anytime soon. I started to walk to my first class and ran into one of the most popular guys in school.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't see you." I picked up my stuff that had fallen on the floor.

"That's ok. I should've been watching where I was going." He flashed a smile and helped me with my books. His name was Matt, and yeah he was cute. But I didn't want to be with someone that all the girls in school were fighting for.

"Thanks." I took my books from him and headed to class.

"It's Amy right?"

"Yeah."

"So Amy…would you want to come to a party tonight."

"Already going." WAIT! I told Soraya that I wasn't going! Seriously, I don't understand what just happened…

"See ya there!" He did that smile that all the girls seemed to fall for, obviously I was too for some reason, and walked away. I couldn't concentrate at all during school. All I could think of was Roulette. I couldn't get him to calm down, all he did was run around in his pin all day. Roulette was the horse that my mom and I had saved. I was beginning to think that I wasn't going to be able to help him. I couldn't give up though. I had to prove that he was special, and I knew he was.

"Amy…Amy Flemming?" I flashed back into my class. My teacher was talking to me.

"Sorry, what?"

"The question is; Are there any advanced and complex multicellular animals that have chloroplasts inside their bodies or under their skin?"

_I hate science. I really, really hate it. Honestly, why do I need to know about advanced and complex multicellular animals? I don't get it. Good thing I studied last night._

"Technically no. Although, there are more complex multicellular animals that will pinch the chloroplasts from plants. Like the freshwater jellyfish; it gets chloroplasts from green algae and keeps it in its stomach." (Totally looked that all up online!) Soraya laughed in surprise. The teacher just stared at me.

"Thank…you," She said in astonishment. I went back to thinking about Roulette for the rest of the day and got away with it.

When I got home I ran to the house. I tried to sneak back out after I put my backpack in my room but Lou, like the motherly sister she was, caught me.

"Did you do your homework?" It was one of those stupid questions that people like Lou asked when they knew the answer but just had to ask to make you feel stupid. I took a breath and went back to my room. I sat down and did the enormous amount of schoolwork that teachers felt necessary to send home after eight hours of school, so you can do some more! My mind wondered as I answered the questions that I didn't understand were relevant. After an hour of this I went back into the living room where Lou was reading her fashion magazine.

"There, I did my homework. Happy?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yep!" She sounded so peppy, it was annoying. I stormed outside and into the barn. I started to do my chores but then looked at Roulette. He looked almost sad, it was like him and I felt the same way but he didn't understand that. I went and got the loping rope and put a halter on him, he was already worked up. After fifteen minutes I finally got him into the pin. I worked him and worked him, for almost 2 hours, but he never could trust me. That's when I lost it.

"Don't you see that I'm hurt too? I lost her! You're still alive! I trust you why can't you just trust me back, we feel the same way! Why can't you just feel that? Why can't you just be my friend?" I yelled at him for several minutes, sometimes asking the same questions. I sat down in the middle of the pin and let go of the rope. Who cared if he walked free, or trampled me for that matter. I put my face in my hands and let the tears stream down my cheeks. I felt something on my shoulder. I looked up slowly, and there was Roulette sniffing my shoulder. I smiled, smiled like I hadn't for a long time. I put my hand under his chin and rubbed the opposite side of his face.

"Thank you." Was all I could whisper. "Thank you." There was a honk from an unfamiliar truck and the moment was over. Roulette started running around the pin again.

"Umph." I got up to go see who it was, meanwhile, Lou was standing on the porch. A single tear ran down her face, she couldn't leave.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A little blue truck was coming down the long driveway of Heartland. I could hear the blaring music from a mile away. I closed the pin as he slammed on his breaks only a few feet away.

"Can I help you?" I asked after he turned the little Ford off. He was probably about 19.

"Yeah, you can tell me where a…" He looked down at a piece of paper. "Marion Flemming." A small gasp came out of my before I could stop it. I hadn't heard her name since the accident. I know it sounds stupid, and I never thought it would have this affect, but somehow it did.

"You can't, I am sorry."

"And why is that?" He looked annoyed.

"She's dead," I say bluntly. He blinked a couple of times, and I could tell he wasn't sure what to say.

"Why are you here?" I ask. Out of the corner of my eye I saw grandpa coming out of the house, putting his jacket on in the process.

"Um…I was hired to work here a few weeks ago." He opened his mouth to say something else but stopped.

"By who?" Grandpa reaches us in time to hear this part of the conversation. He looks at me like he's unsure if he should say or not.

"Mom." I blurt out for him. I see the hurt in grandpa's eyes before I go back to the pin where Roulette is impatiently waiting for me. I grab the lead rope and take him back to the stall. I stop and look at grandpa one more time before I go back to the stall.

"He listened." I leave them to talk about this 'situation' that has come up.

"I'm not trying to break you." I tell Roulette. "I just want you to trust me." I keep telling him that and I keep thinking it but it's the only thing that I can think of to describe how I feel. "We both went through the same thing…I know how you feel." I talk to my horses as if we are both people. I saw the time and realized I should be getting ready. I put Roulette away and ran back to the house. I am always running to the house a lot; I don't manage my time well. I didn't take much time to get ready, cause I honestly didn't care that much. Keep in mind, I said I didn't care THAT much, so I still care. Curling my hair is what took the longest, than I grabbed one of the two pairs of jeans that I kept for times like this. I only ever wore jeans so I had to keep some that didn't get stains all over them. I grabbed my nice boots that only had a couple scratches on them and went into the living room.

"I'm taking the truck," I yell to the empty house. "Hey I warned them," I say to myself. I grabbed the keys off the hook and hopped in the truck. It was grandpa's truck and he had had it since before I was born, meaning it's really old. I turned the key and just like every other time it didn't start.

"Ugh!" I open the door and popped the hood. I looked around for the wire that grandpa had told me to make sure was connected if it did this. It wasn't a real common problem. I found it and squeezed it and the connector together. That didn't work so I went back to the hood of the truck. _I really need to learn about trucks if I am going to be driving this old thing._ I put my hands on my hips and looked for something that could be wrong, then I hollered for someone; no answer. I would just take the newer truck but I wasn't allowed to drive it without someone with me.

"Damn…" I whisper.

"Need some help?" _He's still here? _I think to myself.

"No."

"So what's wrong with it?" He's just like Lou!

"Uh…"

"Do you want me to take a look?"

"Sure." It kind of looks like he is hanging around here so I might as well get used to it. He walks over and fiddles with a few things while I lean against the truck and tap my foot, trying to hint that I am in a hurry.

"So where are you going…" He takes his eyes away from the engine and looks at me for a couple seconds.

"Amy…it's Amy Flemming."

"Ty Borden." He whipped his hand off on his pants and shook my hand. _Nice._ Grandpa came out of the barn.

"Ty what did I tell you about my granddaughters?" He looked at me and then down at his feet.

"Um…no closer than ten feet sir."

"Are you ten feet away from both of my granddaughters?"

"No, sir." I didn't like Ty, but grandpa was being a little too technical.

"He's just trying to help grandpa. The truck wouldn't start."

"And where do you think you're going."

"A…party."

"I didn't know about this."

"I told Lou and she said I could go. I thought that would be ok."

"Not all by yourself." I sighed and picked up my phone.

"What if Soraya goes?"

"I want two people who have a license in that car." _Why? It doesn't take two people to drive a car! But grandpa is too stubborn and Soraya does not have her license yet, just her permit._

"Lou could drive me and then I can call her when I want her to pick me up." Just then, _of course,_ Lou got in the truck and drove to town.

"Ugh."

"I can drive you into town. I got some stuff to do anyway," Ty offered.

"Yeah, sure, I guess."

"Is anyone going to ask me what I think?" Grandpa's raspy voice cut in.

"Is that ok with you, grandpa?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yes," He says that one word and walks away. I laugh and shake my head at him.

"The belts broken, we'll take my truck."

"Kay." I grabbed my wallet and went to his truck. It took twenty minutes to get there, I gave directions.

"What's your number?"

"Why?"

"So I can call you to ask you out." I said sarcastically, "I need to be able to call you when I need a ride if you're not here yet."

"Oh, right. It's 587-7384." I put it in and realize that we're already there.

"Thanks." I get out and close the truck door. There are cars parked everywhere and I weave my way through them in to the mansion where the party is. Ashley Stanton lived here and is one of those people who are so popular but the meanest also. I search for a familiar face once I step inside but I think the whole school is here so it's hard to even take a step. Someone bumps into the back of me and I almost fall on my face.

"Hey! Watch it would ya?" I start to say but then I turn around to see Matt who was shoved into me.

"Dude, careful!" He says half laughing half serious.

"Sorry." The guy stumbles away to find someone else to mess with.

"Sorry about that."

"It's ok. It's not your fault." I look around awkwardly hoping that he would say something.

"So are you having a good time?" _Thank you!_

"Uh…"

"Besides the fact that I practically knocked you over?"

"I just got here and that's pretty much the only thing that has happened."

"Well, then you need to do something!"

"I need to do something fun, that's for sure."

"Alright, you thirsty."

"Yes." He takes me by the hand and we walk through the crowd to the kitchen. He starts to pour me a 'drink' (if you get my drift.)

"I don't drink."

"Oh, come on, it's just one drink. It won't hurt you."

"I don't want it." He starts to protest but stops and pours it into the sink. Instead he gives me a cup of just coke.

"Thank you."

"Yeah." I sat down on a couch and started to talk to a few friends from school. This is probably the last party that I go to without Soraya. I normally have so much fun but this time I'm not. _It could be that my mom just died._ I think to myself as I listen to Riley tell me a story about riding her horse and running into some guy on their property. _Or it could be that Soraya always makes me laugh and is always making me do stuff I normally wouldn't do, like dancing._ After about two hours I was getting tired but was having a little more fun than I had been. Riley and I just sat down after dancing a little bit and walking around to see who was there. She was one of the most talkative people I have ever met!

"Hey do you want to dance?" Matt asked.

"Uh…not really."

"Come on, Amy! You never do anything fun!" He grabs my arm and pulls me off of the couch.

"Matt, stop. I don't want to dance with you!" He pulls me in close and I push away which knocks him over. I ran out of the house and looked around hoping Ty would just be there already. His truck was nowhere in sight so I took my phone out and dialed his number.

"I'm on my way."

"Thanks." I sat down on the porch and Riley came out.

"Hey, are you ok? I can't believe Matt did that."

"I can. I'm ok, thanks for checking on me."

"Do you want me to wait here until your ride comes?"

"No…that's ok. You go back inside."

"You sure?"

"Yep!" I tried to sound cheery but we both knew she saw right through me. I smiled and playfully hit her arm before she went back inside. Five and then ten minutes went by and Ty still wasn't here. _Where is he? _I heard the door open and close behind me and I turned around to see Matt. I turned around to just ignore him but it didn't work.

"What is your problem?" He sounded furious.

"I don't have a problem, you do."

"We were having fun until you freaked out because I wanted to dance."

"You practically past out on me, and I didn't want to. You can't force someone to do something. Besides you made a way bigger deal of it then it should've been."

"Oh so all of a sudden this is my fault?"

"Not all of a sudden. It was from the beginning."

"What?" He pulled me up by the arm.

"Ouch! Get off of me!" I yell at him and try to push him away but he grabbed tighter. Before I knew it Matt was on the ground and I was being pulled up by Ty. I could feel the bruise forming on my arm as I walked back to the truck with Ty, his arm firmly around my waist, guiding me. He set me in the car and then walked back over to Matt. He yelled at him but I couldn't hear it over the music coming from the house and the people talking in the yard. I saw people laughing and I didn't even care. He sat down in the car and put his hands on the wheel. We sat there for a moment and then he looked at me.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah…my arms a little sore…but I'm fine, I've had worse." I hesitated at what I would say next. "Thank you."

"Yeah," He said with a sigh and then started the car and we headed back to Heartland.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

We were both quiet on the ride home. As we reached the house I got out of the car and Ty headed for the barn.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

He turned around to look at me. "To bed."

"In the loft?"

"Is that ok with you?" I always played up there when mom was busy.

"Yeah…" I walked to the house and immediately got into bed. I laid there under the covers and looked up at the ceiling. I had this feeling of emptiness yet full of want. Want of what? I have no idea. Eventually I fell asleep, when, I have no idea. I woke up to the radio on my alarm clock playing 3AM by Matchbox Twenty.

_How appropriate, _I thought. I saw the clock and jumped out of bed. I had 20 minutes to take a shower. I ran outside to catch the bus but saw Roulette in the pin.

"What is he doing out there?" I said.

"Your grandpa told me to put him out here." I gave him a funny look and he just shrugged his shoulders. Lucy, the only female bus driver in our school and one of the best, blew the horn on the bus. I looked towards the house where grandpa was drinking his coffee, I had to get to the bus. I just let out a sigh and ran down the driveway.

"Thanks Lucy." I smiled at the bus driver I've had since I was in kindergarten and sat down in an empty seat next to Soraya.

"Who was that?" She asked excitedly, looking out the window.

"Who?" she looked at me like I was crazy.

"The hot guy who is doing all your chores!"

"What? You mean Ty?"

"Ty…"

"Borden."

"So what is Ty doing at Heartland?"

"My mom hired him before…the accident." My voice came down to a whisper as I said accident.

"Oh…" All of my friends got quiet when this subject came up. I could tell that Soraya was trying to change the subject after that.

"So, I heard about what happened at the party. Matt is such a jerk. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I just feel stupid for believing that he was different."

"No you're not…although I would've danced with him," Soraya said jokingly.

"Soraya," It came out a little loud and then we laughed together. We made small talk all the way to school.

"See you for Chemistry," I told Soraya as we went separate ways. Chemistry was my favorite subject, and the only thing I looked forward to in school. I blankly went from class to class for the next four hours; Math, History, English, Writing. The bell rang in our final class before lunch and I made my way through the crowded hallway of pushy teenagers. I never have like high school. It's not the work, and it's not the teachers either, but the kids. They're obnoxious and selfish, and it's not like I am the perfect child or anything but 90% of the things kids here do I can't imagine hearing about. I practically fell on my face as Ashley pushed by me, trying to get to Matt before any other girl in school.

_Fine with me!_ I grabbed a tray and let the lunch ladies scoop unknown foods onto my plate. I sat down and realized that it was meatloaf today. I ate what I knew was safe and tossed the rest into the garbage on my way out, which was most of my lunch. I wasn't that hungry anyway. I went outside to call Lou.

"Hello?" She sounded hurried.

"Hey Lou, it's Amy."

"Oh, hi Amy. Do you need something."

"Well, gosh I'm sorry I bothered you I just had a question about Roulette."

"Sorry, I'm trying to cook lunch for grandpa." I made a face even though she couldn't see me.

"You're cooking?" I asked.

"Yes, is that a problem?" Lou shot back. I hesitated at what I would say next.

"No…it's fine. Is grandpa doing anything with Roulette?"

"Not yet. I don't know if he will later though. Why?"

"I was just hoping to get him used to the stall."

"Look Amy, I gotta go. I'll tell grandpa." Before I could say anything there was a dial tone. I looked at the phone with disgust and shoved it into my pocket. I ran into Soraya outside of the chemistry class.

"Sorry, ready for chemistry?" Soraya hated chemistry which is why she always sat by me; we were always together. We went over the periodic table, chemical reactions (obviously,) and an Ethylene experiment that we would be doing next week. Our last two classes, electives, Soraya and I had together.

I was practically running for the bus when the bell of our last class finished. I was counting the minutes until the end of the day. When the bus finally reached Heartland I set my bag down on the porch and ran to Roulette.

"Hey buddy!" I rubbed his forehead and whispered to him. I started to open the gate when grandpa came out of the barn.

"Amy…"

"Great," I whispered. "Yes."

"Did you get your homework done?"

"Grandpa…" I looked at him with pleading eyes. "I've been looking forward to this all day. I promise I'll get my homework done, I just need to do my chores first; just today. I loped Roulette for over an hour and turned my back to him. I hoped that the result would be the same as yesterday, and it was. I put a blanket on his back and a small saddle. Getting used to the feel of the saddle again seemed like the right thing to do.

Later grandpa wanted me to work with one of the new horses. She had been in an accident 8 months ago and all her physical wounds were healed yet she wouldn't trailer, and when they rode her she seemed to be nervous all the time. She was an old horse that the owner's daughter had been riding and was very attached to. I decided to saddle her and get a better sense of what the problem was. As I started to ride her through trees and little obstacles to start off with I noticed a few things that the owner had not mentioned. He was being easily spooked; if he heard a noise his head jerked in that direction. During the ride I took him to an open field, where nothing would be able to spook him. Before I knew it she jumped at the sight of nothing and I fell off the back of her. I hit the ground hard but immediately jumped up to look for Cherry, the horse that just bucked me off, and to my surprise she was standing right beside me. I walked in front of her and started to stroke her forehead, working my way down her neck; just like my mother had taught me.

"What's wrong girl?" I asked, concerned. "There is nothing here to…" I stopped in mid-sentence as I looked into her eyes. I knew what was wrong then.

**Hey everyone, I want to thank all of you who have given such nice reviews. It really encourages me. I'm so sorry I haven't updated sooner but I have been on vacation and got to writing as soon as I can. Nothing super exciting has happened and I'm sorry about that. I am new to FF and hope to get things figured out soon. If any of you have any suggestions I could really use them, having trouble with that right now.**

**LibbyLou22 – The last episode I saw was probably season 3 episode 2. I haven't found a way to watch any farther than that so if you know of a website or anything please let me know, I would love to continue watching the series. Thanks for your reviews, they really helped! **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Scott pulled up the driveway an hour later after I had called him.

"Where is the horse that you called about?" Scott asked walking towards me from his truck.

"In a hurry are we?" I answered with a question.

"Sorry…it's been a busy day. How are you Amy?"

"Fine. We got a new stable hand. Ty."

"Yeah?" He sounded interested.

"Yeah," I said it disappointed and Scott smiled.

"Oh."

"Anyway," We both start walking towards the barn where I left Cherry. "I want you to check on our new horse. I want to know what you think."

"Ok, what exactly do you think is wrong?"

"I kind of want to know if I'm right. Just look at all of his symptoms and…I don't know just look at him will you?" I got a little frustrated because I couldn't think of how to explain what I was feeling. Scott looked at Cherry for half an hour before making a diagnosis.

"I think she's blind."

"I knew it!" I sounded a little too excited. "Sorry." I pull at my shirt and look at my feet. Ty came from around the corner and I looked away.

"You must be Ty." Scott shook his hand and smiled. "I'm Scott, the vet."

"Oh…cool." I felt his eyes on me and looked up. We looked each other for a moment and then he walked away

"Huh." Scott started to put his stuff away.

"That was an easy horse."

"What do you mean?"

"I just got him here today and I already figured it out. Too easy almost." Scott just smiled and continued to clean up around the horse. Lou walked in then and immediately Scott straightened up and looked at her.

_Gosh it's so obvious._

"Hey Scott," Lou said, cheerfully as always.

"H-hi." He sounded so nervous.

_TORTURE! _

"Is everything alright?" Lou asked as she slid her hand down Cherry's neck.

"I guess…not really," I reply. "She's blind."

"Oh, no!" Lou looked at the horse with her baby face and it made me giggle. I led Cherry into her stable and heard my phone ring. It was Soraya.

"Hello?" I said a few seconds later.

"Hey, Amy, do you want to go for a ride?"

"Um…" I looked over my shoulder and back at Cherry. "Sure. Meet me here in 20 minutes?"

"See you then." There was a click and I put my phone back in my pocket. I decided to tack up the horses now so that when Soraya got here we could leave right away. An old truck and trailer pulled up when I was finished and I walked out to meet them.

"Can I help you?" I ask the guy getting out of the truck. He wasn't very old, maybe Ty's age or a little older. He was cute but seemed a little arrogant and I could imagine that he called me for help.

"I called about dropping off a horse; Adan. He's having…" He seems to be embarrassed to say what the problem is; just as I thought. "Trouble with some stuff."

"Like what?"

"Everytime I ride him it's like he wants to kill me. He bolts, charges, stomps and everything I try just makes things worth if anything."

"Ok. I tell every client this before they sign the paper work, I can't make any promises. I do my best and that's all I can do."

"Ok," He says in agreement.

"Amy Flemming."

"I know." I give him a that-was-rude look. "What?"

"Usually when you introduce yourself the person does the same in return."

"Chase Powers."

"I know."

"Really?" He seemed happy.

"Nope, but I do now." I pressed my lips together and took the horse to the barn but stopped halfway there. "Lou's in the house, you and her can deal with the paperwork."

"Uh huh," I went back to the barn slowly.

"Hey Adan," I talked to him like I did with Spartan or any other horse. "What's going on with you? Are you scared of something?" He stepped backward as I tried to lead him into the barn.

"Hey…it's alright buddy." I hold the end of the lead rope and step into the barn. "Look, I did it, you'll be just fine." Just then Ty barrels down the steps and into me. I stumble but catch myself in time for Adan to jump up.

"Whoa boy…easy…it's ok." I slowly pull the rope closer to me as Adan calms down. "Easy boy," I pat his neck and then turn around to glare at Ty.

"What?" He said defensively. I just sigh and make my way to an empty stall. "What's wrong?"

"Well you kind of ran into me and you scared the horse."

"I know I did that but I mean what is wrong with the horse?"

"Oh, I'm fine. The horse though he's scared of everything. Including people who run into him."

"Can I help?" I look at him, surprised.

"You want to help?"

"Yeah…I work here now, right? Well I might as well get used to it."

"Get used to it?"

"Yes."

"Ok…I'll come get you when I'm ready to work with him." I smile as I say this. I walk towards Cherry and look into her stall. Something doesn't seem right, and it's not in her eyes. I'm not sure what to think but I go into her stall.

"You all right girl?" I pet her neck and my hand feels almost damp when I pull it away. I guess it's kind of warm outside and I was just working with her. I decide that I will check on her later today to see how she is doing. When I go outside I just happen to run into Chase Powers.

"Get everything settled?" I ask, just trying to be nice to my new client.

"Yeah. You busy?"

"Yes…kind of."

"Doing what?" He asked. He was kind of nosey.

"I'm working. So unless you have some questions you should go."

"I do have a question actually."

"Ok." I turn to him.

"Do you want to get a bite to eat tonight." _Oh brother._

"No."

"Why not?" I walk away and go finish mucking the stalls out. Most people complain about mucking out the stalls but I honestly don't mind it, plus I don't have to listen to Mallory either complaining or singing! Plus for me! It was getting close to dinnertime so I went in to do my homework so that I could honestly tell Lou I did when she asked me at dinner.

Dinner was weird though, Ty was there. I was thinking that he would feed himself. Not that I care but it was just strange, and I could tell he thought the same thing. He was stiff and afraid to fix his plate. Grandpa grilled him with questions through the whole dinner while Lou and I tried to get him off of it. He thanked Lou and left right afterwards for the loft.

"Well he's quiet," Grandpa said.

"Because you were talking the whole time," I tried to defend him nicely.

"I was not," Grandpa said loudly. I just smile and take my plate to the kitchen and head out the door.

"Where are _you_ going?" Lou said in her usual motherly tone.

"Night check," I say in an obvious tone.

"Have you done your homework?"

"Ugh," I say loudly and let the door shut. "Lou, I know I have to do my homework! You don't have to remind me every freaking day!" I walk out the door and know that she just wants me to answer. "Yes, ok, I did!" I yell behind me. The lights were still on in the barn as I opened the door.

"Ty," I yelled throughout the barn. I heard him coming down the stairs and turned around.

"Yeah?" He seemed too eager.

"Um…we do night check every night, grandpa wanted me to make sure you know everything to do."

"K." We went through all the horses and basically went down a check list.

"Any questions?"

"Um, you do this every night?"

"Yes." I expected another question but we both just stood there in awkward silence. "Is…that it?"

"Uh huh."

"Then, I'm going to go to bed." I smiled and did a little wave before closing the doors behind me. I read in my mother's journal before actually going to sleep. Or at least trying. I slept on and off for the next eight hours, but I got up early and went outside to do my morning chores. I might as well do something instead of lying in bed. By the time I was ready and had my chores done grandpa was just getting out of bed. I decided to get Adan out and work him in the round pin.

"Morning buddy," I try to say cheerfully. "We're going to do a little running this morning!" I had another hour until my bus came which gave me plenty of time with Adan. I hooked a halter and lead rope onto him and led him outside. He was already jumpy when I got there but as I led him through the gate he seemed to get even more nervous, as if he were claustrophobic. I hold the whip out with my right hand, the long lead rope in my left and he starts to walk; then trot and finally he runs. I push him and push him as I run along with him. I try to keep his pace even and in rhythm but he's always wanting to turn and slow down or speed up.

"Come on! Up!" I yell at him, and continue to push him but I can see he's getting angry with me, the way he is moving and the way his eyes are darting around and then at me. He jumps around and I don't realize Ty has just come out of the barn.

"Amy…" He says it warningly but it's like I've blocked everything out. I show him the whip but it just makes things worse now and he rears up, pulling the rope out of my hand. He starts to charge toward me.

"Amy!" This time he yells and he's running to the fence, jumping the fence, running towards me. He doesn't make it to me before Adan almost runs into me but I move before he can trample me. It all happened so fast I had no idea what was going on until he was just inches away from me.

"Amy, come on, let's get out of here."

**So I know it's been forever since I updated but I've been having trouble getting into this story. I've written stories before but only my best friend has looked at them. If you have any ideas please PLEASE PLEASE tell me! Thanks. **

**LibbyLou22 – thanks for telling me that they are on YouTube. I had no idea otherwise I would've watched all the episodes. I've already watched the ones I haven't seen, probably why I haven't updated yet! **

**I know I've said this a million times but thanks for the nice comments, makes me feel good!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

My heart was still pounding as Ty helped me over the fence and to the closest bale of hay to sit down on.

"It's ok, I'm fine," I say reassuringly, trying to get him to calm down.

"You almost got trampled by a horse," He says it like I'm crazy to think I could be ok.

"Yes…but I didn't!" He just lets out a sigh and tells me to sit down, so I do.

"Amy, just look, you're out of breath and your face is pale."

"That's what happens when you **almost** get trampled. It just scared me, really Ty I'm fine," I try to convince him that all is well but I don't think he's really buying it. I can't blame him though, he is not around horses much and he has never dealt with them.

"Just catch your breath and calm down at least." That I can agree with.

"That I can do," I tell him in an agreeing tone. He smiles at me. "What?"

"Nothing. You just…you're the type of person who thinks she doesn't need any help. All I wanted you to do was sit down for a couple minutes." _Well that's embarrassing. _"It's ok," He tells me.

"I know it's ok."

"Your cheeks got all red." _Even more embarrassing. _

"Oh." I shut up at that point and am ready to go get Adan again. I stand up and walk back to the small pin that I was standing in only moments ago.

"Thanks," I say as I walk past Ty.

"Where are you going?"

"To get Adan, I can't just leave him here."

"But don't you think that you should let him calm down a little bit."

"I think he's ok." I climb up the fence and sit there for a little bit, just watching this horse that I have taken on. I'm not sure what happened but he got this look in his eye, as if he wasn't going to take me telling him what to do. I slowly get down from the fence and I can tell that Ty is pretending to work but really trying to keep an eye on me in case he needs to "rescue" me again. I just smile and make my way to Adan, careful not to spook him.

"What are you thinking?" I ask with a concerned voice as I get to him. I rub his forehead and down his neck as he starts to feel normal again. He leans into me as if he's getting sleepy and wants to lie down. I smile that maybe he's getting used to me.

"That's it, huh, boy?" I pull on the lead rope and he follows reluctantly. "Yeah, I know." I bring him into the barn and brush him down quickly before my bus gets here. I got on the bus and from there it was just another day at school. There was nothing exciting and nothing new to tell. When I got home, though, it was a whole different story. I started to do my afternoon chores when I heard our golden retriever, Lola, barking non-stop. I walked out of the barn to see what her problem was.

"Lola!" I yelled at her but then I saw that she was growling at something over in the tall grass. As I got closer I heard a weird noise, as if there was a swarm of bees near, and that was when I realized what was happening.

"Lola, come here," I yelled as I ran closer and closer. But before I could get there she jumped and yelped. "No," I whisper. I approach her slowly, hoping that the rattle snake is gone and that I can get close to Lola.

"Grandpa," I yell at the top of my lungs, and though I try to hide my worry I know that he can tell something is definitely wrong. I lift up Lola, not caring to look for the snake, and try to carry her over to the porch where grandpa had gathered. Ty comes out of the barn and runs towards us when he sees the dog, limp in my arms. I can already feel the tears rolling down my cheeks. I never cry, ever. But my mother bought this dog when I was a little girl, and though I realize that she is old and was bound to die eventually, I never thought it would happen like this.

"Call Scott," I demand to no one in particular, but from the look on Lou's face I can tell that she is on it when she runs back into the house.

"What do we do?" I ask and it comes out like a pitiful squeak.

"Amy go get some water, she needs to have fluids. I'll keep her calm." I get up and when I leave Ty jumps up and heads towards the house.

"Where are you going?" Grandpa asks.

"Benadryl. See her leg? It's swelling, and Benadryl will help it." Grandpa looks confused but he lets him go get the Benadryl from the medicine cabinet. They do all they can while Scott is rushing here, leaving his recent patient because it is not too serious.

Ten minutes later after they have given Lola water and Benadryl Scott skids to a stop into the driveway. Clearly he has what he needs next to him because before he can turn off the truck he's out the door and headed towards the house. He administered some antibiotics and did some other things that I'm not sure of as I just sat on the bench near the house where grandpa told me to stay.

"I need to take her to the animal hospital…now. I'll call you when we're out of the woods," Scott said as he picked up Lola.

"I want to go,"

"Amy…" Grandpa said in his calm but I don't approve voice. "I don't think that's good idea."

"But…" He cut me off anyway.

"No buts," It's impossible to win an argument with my grandpa.

"Fine." Scott drove away and I couldn't help but feel like I should be driving after him. But I went back to the barn and did my chores trying to keep my mind off the things that had happened only thirty minutes ago. I called Soraya and told her what happened, she was just as attached to that dog as I had been. I slowly did my homework inside at the kitchen table but it was hard when I felt like all Lou was doing was watching me. It was as if she thought I would turn into a pumpkin any minute and she had to see it. I sat outside on the porch that evening wondering if I could've done anything different when Soraya pulled in to the driveway. I stood up and let myself run to her. We hugged for a couple long minutes and then she followed me into the house and into my room. No words were said. I walked to the window of my room and she sat down on the bed.

"What happened?" I began to tell her what had seemed like some of the longest minutes of my life. We both cried a little bit and then decided that it really was the best thing to do to go see Lola, even if we could physically see her.

"Lou," She seemed to already know what I was going to do. "I don't know why you guys want me to stay here, but I'm going to see Lola," I said firmly. She just stood there and I could tell that she knew there was no way to keep me here. Soraya stood behind me with her head down, afraid that I might've just started a fight.

"Ok," She said sweetly.

"Ok?" I was so surprised that she was just going to let me go.

"Go," I hugged her and then went out to the truck and drove into the town. The animal hospital was the biggest building in town; three stories tall. I parked next to Scott's truck and walked into the lobby. There was a young girl, maybe in her mid twenties, sitting at the desk. She looked up and smiled at me and I wonder if she gets a job easily because of it. People come here sad, they must need happy people.

"Can I help you?" Her voice is so high pitched and sweet that I can't help but smile with her.

"I'm here for a golden retriever…Lola."

"Oh…" Her smile is gone in that instant and I'm worried about what might've happened. What she dead? Was there little hope?

"Let…me…go get Scott," She says and slowly stands up as she heads to the back. I just let out a sigh and Soraya pats my back.

"She's going to be ok." After five long minutes the girl comes back and I'm afraid of what she might say.

"Lola, is in the back room. Scott will come out when he is done."

"Thanks," Soraya and I say at the same time. We sit there for a few hours and I'm starting to think that time has stopped. Soraya is falling asleep in the chair and grandpa has called me five times wondering either where I am or if there is any news on Lola.

"Come on," I tell Soraya as I stand up.

"What?" She sounds confused.

"You need to go home and get some sleep."

"No, really I'm fine. I can stay here," I can tell all she wants to do is lay in her bed.

"Soraya…you've had a really long day, and I'll call you when I find out. Even if it's 3 AM, I promise." She thinks about it for a few moments and then stands up. I drive her back to her house and she gives me a hug before going inside. I back out of the drive way and head back to the animal hospital. I walk in and the girl stands up when she sees me.

"Oh no," I whisper.

"Scott says you can go back." The smile is back and I feel a glimpse of hope. I follow her down halls and up stairs and finally we stop at a door. She opens it for me where I see Lola. I'm not sure whether to be happy, or sad.

**Hope ya'll like it. – CowGirl7384**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Lola was laying on a bed awake, but looking sleepy.

"She's gonna be ok?" I ask a little nervous.

"She's gonna be just fine," Scott sounded pretty happy.

_She's alive. She's alive. She's alive. _I kept repeating it in my head but on the inside my heart was breaking. How can a dog really live with only three legs? Can they run like they've never run before? Can they still play? Is she going to lay on the porch all day and night and just be sad because of this? You always see people depressed when they've lost a limb, and I am not sure if it's the same for animals.

"Amy…" Scott sounded worried now. "She's going to be fine. We amputate dog's legs all the time. It'll take a while for her to get used to it, but once she does she'll be just like normal. It's like a person who has lost their leg; they have to go through therapy and prosthetics, but once they get the hang of things they can run marathons and play sports!" What he says is true but it still makes me sad.

"When can she come home?" It's all I want to know right now.

"We'll keep her for a couple days just to make sure there is no infection."

"Ok." I walk over to Lola and run my hand over her head. I bend down so that I can look into her eyes.

"I'll be back soon, girl," I tell her reassuringly. I get up and walk out the door to the truck and set there for a little while, remembering my mother. We used to drive to town in this truck with Lola for lunches and then to the park. Now mom is gone, Lou is back, and Lola is…here but not all of her. I'm alone driving this truck and it's not nearly as fun as Sunday afternoons. I put it in gear and start to drive home, calling Soraya on the way. She doesn't pick up the phone so I leave a message.

"She's awake. Call me when you get this, we should talk." When I get home I tell Lou and grandpa what happened. They seem so happy that she's alive, and I guess I am too.

The next few days go by slowly and I feel like I'm in a daze; go to school, do your homework, do your chores, go to sleep and then it starts all over again. It's finally time to pick up Lola and grandpa and I go to town. Grandpa lifts her into the truck and she lays her head on my lap all the way home; it feels comforting. Grandpa picked up her favorite treats, it's funny how he spoils her sometimes. When we get home grandpa carries her into the house, and he starts to lay her down on her bed but I put my hand on his arm.

"Can she sleep with me until she gets a little better?" I ask. Grandpa has never let Lola on the carpet or on our beds so I'm not sure why I'm asking, but I want her with me. He looks at me with a sad face and I can tell he's thinking. Before he says anything he stands up straight and shifts his body towards me.

"Ok…only until she gets a little better," he tells me with a strict tone.

"Thanks grandpa." I walk to my room and grandpa lays Lola down on the bed. I bring in her food and water and give her one of the treats grandpa bought at the feed supply store. I went outside to find Chase Powers truck in our driveway. He stepped out when he saw me walking towards him.

"How is Adan coming?"

"Um…" I wasn't sure what to say. "Not that great." The smile on his face was instantly gone.

"I thought you were supposed to be a horse whisperer."

"You only gave me like two days and one of those days I had to take my dog to the vet where she got her leg amputated," I said defensively. He just looked at me like I was crazy.

"I'm coming back in a couple days…if you don't have those horses showing major improvement I'm taking them and I want my money back."

"You already put a deposit down and signed a contract saying you know that this may not work. Sorry if you didn't read the whole thing but if you take your horses you aren't getting any money back. And also…" I took a step closer. "You can't expect me to change your horse in a couple of days. All horses are different…just like humans. Sometimes you can help them, sometimes you can't. And when you can help them there is no way of controlling how long it will take…just think about that." My voice gained more and more anger as I continued to talk to him. I walked back into the barn and listened to his truck tear out of the driveway.

"Can he do that?" I jumped at the sound of Ty's voice. I whipped around and leaned against the stall.

"Gosh, you scared me…I'm not used to having a stable hand around," I said a little out of breath.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's ok." I smiled and started putting grain into a bucket. "You want an honest answer?" I looked at him for a few seconds and continued filling buckets.

"Yeah."

"I have absolutely no idea! They are his horses, so I'm sure he can take them…but I'm almost positive he can't take his money. He could sue us…" I started thinking of all the possibilities out loud. "Don't get too close though…Chase Powers could take your dream away."

"How could Chase Powers take your dream away?"

"He's 'well respected' in the community, meaning he's a good trainer and gets paid a lot. If he tells everyone I am not who I am…nobody will come to heartland."

"Chase Powers is a jerk…" Ty starts to help me with the buckets. "And a bully…he can bring it on." I look at him and he's smiling at me…he has pretty eyes. _Did I just think that? _We finish the chores and I get out Adan. I'm not exactly sure anymore what Chase Powers wants out of this horse. I try to spend time with him today. I walk him around and talk to him and then I lope him but only for about 15 minutes. I get out the blanket and show it to him, head on. He sniffs it and starts to act like he's scared.

"It's just a blanket," I tell him strongly. I wonder if the tone of voice will affect how he reacts. I start to rub him with the blanket, showing him it won't hurt.

"See…it's just a blanket…it won't hurt you." I start to put the blanket over his back and he bucks. The rope is yanked out of my hand and burns through my hand. It's just another day that seems to go so wrong.

**So, this chapter's super short, and I'm sorry. But I'm having trouble with it so I was hoping maybe updating faster would help people review more. Please review, it really helps me write more. Although, if you don't want me to write more, don't review! Haha. Thanks ya'll. Hope you enjoy.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It was seven in the morning and as usual I had gotten up before everyone else. I went in to the barn to feed the horses and there was no feed. _Great, I have to go get more. _I headed for the feed store and turned on the radio. I guess I wasn't paying attention very well but I started to drift into the other lane where an oncoming car was. I swerved back into the right lane and gripped the wheel tired.

_That guy just gave me the bird…that kind of hurts. _

I finally arrived at the feed store where Soraya was working.

"Hey, Soraya. Is our order in back?" I ask a little distracted.

"Yeah…" She gave me a worried look. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah…just a little distracted," I smiled and headed to the back where I started to load the truck. I was on my last back when I heard a loud crash in the store. Slowly I wandered back to where Soraya was when I came in. Something didn't seem right. I saw the counter and that's when I knew. I jumped over the counter and sat on the floor. I hadn't noticed her laying there, on the floor. Her leg was bleeding. Was that a gun shot? _NO! _I covered my mouth trying to conceal a scream.

"Oh, god." I whisper. I could hear rustling in the other side of the store.

"Soraya…Soraya, please wake up." She moaned and I covered her mouth.

"Soraya…you have to be quiet." Her eyes fluttered open and became wide. I put a finger over my mouth and pointed to where the man was standing. I could tell he already got stuff out of the register but there was a safe in the back. He started to come back to where we were and I hid around the corner where Soraya could still see me but he couldn't.

"Where is the combination?" She looked terrified and started to mumble something.

"Where is the combination?" He yelled. It made both of us jump a little.

"It's in the desk," She said crying. I heard him hesitate and then hurry back to the other room. I grabbed a couple towels under the counter and pushed them onto where her leg was bleeding, from what, I have no idea but I was guessing he had a gun. I looked at her worried face and made a gun with my fingers…she shook her head yes. I tried to take a deep breath but it caught in my throat. I looked down and the few towels I had were soaked in blood. I had to stop it. I pulled off her apron and grabbed a long spoon. I tied the apron around her leg and then around the spoon and tightened it as much as I could. There were only two more towels which I used to put pressure on the wound. Within a few minutes I had the bleeding stopped. I sighed in relief but only for a minute. That's when my phone started to ring. Soraya got wide eyes and I stumbled to my feet trying to get the phone out of my pocket. I turned it off but only the find the man staring back at me.

"Who are you?" He sounded angry.

"She's my friend…I was picking some stuff up…" I wanted it to come out strong so badly but it had come out as a whisper and high pitched.

"Get in the office."

"But she needs…"

"Get…in…THE OFFICE!" His voice was loud and deep and scary.

"Ok…Ok." Again it came out weak and I squeezed Soraya's hand as I walked back into the office. I had no idea where the combination was or what it could be. I started going through drawers and under desks. I was near the door when I saw Ty and he saw me. I had tears rolling down my cheeks and I'm sure my face had a horrid look. He looked at me and stopped. I made a phone with my hands and put it up to my ear, then I mouthed 911. He shook his head and moved away from the window.

"What are you doing? Keep looking," The man commanded. I went back to going through the office but couldn't help but continuingly look up trying to figure out where Ty was. I heard a bump in the kitchen so I cleared my throat.

"What was that?"

"Um, me. I had something in my throat."

"I don't think so."

"Yeah…yeah, it was," I said nervously. He started to walk out of the office when an ambulance siren sounded and he ran out the door with the cash from the register. I ran to Soraya where, somehow, Ty was beside her.

"Soraya…Soraya, they're almost here. Can't you hear the sirens?" I tried to keep her eyes open, and I could tell she was fighting to do so. Ty kept glancing at me and I'm not sure why. In minutes the paramedics were rushing into the building with a gurney. I just sat in the corner, speechless. How could this have happened? I was shivering and trying not to cry when Ty sat next to me. He put his arm around me and I leaned into him. I felt safer knowing someone was there. He didn't say anything. He didn't try to make me feel better. He just sat there, and somehow that was what I needed. After they dealt with Soraya, one of the paramedics came up to me.

"Are you ok? Does anything hurt?"

"No…I'm fine." Ty started to step away. It was like he knew exactly what to do.

"I'm going to check your vitals just to make sure that you ok…sound good?"

"_Why do paramedics and nurses and doctors make everything sound like it's fine. Like everything will be ok? How do you know? Half the time…maybe more…it doesn't go just fine; it doesn't turn out ok!" _This is what I was thinking and I'm not sure if I said it or not. Checked blood pressure, heart rhythm, etc. and it seemed like everything was ok.

"Everything sounds good! I really do think your friend is going to be ok…I'm not just trying to make you feel better." _So I did say that._ I smile and say thanks. Ty picks me up and feel like I can't move.

"Woah. It's ok…" He sat me down and I leaned against the wall. "Amy…Soraya's going to be just fine…and you did everything you could've done…you might've even saved Soraya's life!" I closed my eyes and shook my head yes. His hand was on my face and he was making me look him in the eyes. "It's ok…"

"…ok." I whispered. He helped me up and we went to his truck. He drove me home even though I insisted that I drive myself home.

**Hey ya'll…I am trying to update more often, but that means shorter chapters. Please review quickly! **


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